Murchison House, 10 Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh

Allan Pendreigh, Property Services Agency, 1971-77. 5-storey, irregular H-plan building constructed for the Institute of Geological Science, and located beside Blackford Hill golf course at the northwest corner of the University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings campus. Two staggered modular blocks of pale yellow brick are linked by a central cross-corridor running north to south. Each block has horizontal banks of (replacement) metal-frame glazing units running the length of each floor level. Full height stair towers with angular glazed roofs flank each block to the east and west.

The interior of the building was seen in 2015. Beyond the refurbished foyer and reception area is a passenger lift serving all five levels of the building. The concrete structural frame of the building is expressed throughout the interior of the building as exposed octagonal columns. Internal walls between each column are exposed yellow brick with corbelled brick details within the stairwells. The library is the principal internal space, sited over two floors with an upper gallery level and a central stair well. Stair, window and gallery handrails are polished tubular metal.

The landscaping immediately around the building was established in the late 1970s by the University of Edinburgh Grounds Department, including a small pond to the west courtyard.